Something more powerful than words and fear
by kamaleen
Summary: Clawhauser sighed as he sat down at his desk in the basement. He knew many mammals talked poorly about him behind his back, but he wasn't as oblivion to those insults as most of them thought. He knew, he heard them all, but he tried to ignore them. It's better to let those harsh words go instead of keeping them. He tried his best not to let them hurt him, yet they still did.
1. Chapter 1

HI, I'm not sure why did I write this, to be honest. I'm not even sure why I suddenly like the idea of pairing Chief Bogo and Clawhauser. Maybe it's because they 're a pairing that I've never tried to write before. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed this fan-fiction. And it's not going to be long, probably just 3-4 chapters. Also, beware of hate speech and strong language! [I'm not sure about the sexual content, this is the first time I write a fan-fiction that actually features anthropomorphic animals. So, future apologize for mistakes I might have made.]

This fan-fiction will be set from after Judy left ZPD, and a bit post-movie. So, if you're afraid of spoilers - go see Zootopia first! It's in one of my eternal favorite movies list right now.

Also, this fan-fiction has no beta-reader. Anyone who is interested please let me know ^^

/

* * *

/

"… _even that he turns savage, he won't be able to hurt anyone."_

" _A cheetah likes him? Haha, if you haven't mentioned I would have thought he was a pig."_

" _He's disgusting, how can he let himself become so fat? I still wonder how he manages to walk."_

" _Clawhauser? He's not going to have a partner, let alone a lover, that's for sure. He's fun, but no one would want to go on a date with that ugly obese cat. How can he even call himself a cheetah?"_

" _Dragging Clawhauser to gym is like trying to stop a pack of Timber wolves howling together. It's impossible."_

"… _I'm surprised he is assigned to the basement. Clearly he could not hurt anyone even that he turns. He's too slow with those fat stored inside him. Maybe he would be puffed out even in first jump of the chase."_

" _Finally! Something to move Clawhauser from the reception desk. I think it's time we need a healthy police there, not a useless popstar-obsessed obese flabby cheetah."_

/

Clawhauser sighed as he sat down at his desk in the basement. He knew many mammals talked poorly about him behind his back, but he wasn't as oblivion to those insults as most of them thought. He knew, he heard them all, but he tried to ignore them. It's better to let those harsh words go instead of keeping them.

He tried his best not to let them hurt him, yet they still did. Maybe not as hard as before, but they still hurt him no matter what.

Clawhauser sighed again, pulling himself closer to the table and started to work. Being down here with a few people and poor wifi signal saddened him, but he tried to tell himself that it's better with him being here. In case he did turn savage, the witnesses would be only a few mammals who worked here, not the whole officers in the police station and also the citizens. Moreover, since he was now working alone in this room, it would be easier to contain him if he became a savage mindless animal. Not that he would be able to hurt anyone before they could contain them though; just like they said – he was too slow anyway.

He had heard that officer Judy Hopps had left ZPD, and that saddened him even more. She was, once, full of life, energy, and good intentions to make a better world for everyone. Now she had left, hurt and discouraged by her success in finding Mr. Otterson and other missing mammals which unearthed the truth which former mayor Lionheart had hidden them. The truth that later had become a reason why he had to clomp down stairs and work in records here.

"Clawhauser, I'm going to lunch – do you want to come?"

"Um, I'm not hungry. Thanks." He smiled at a black wolf standing at the doorway. It's Cooper, a large black timber wolf with strange amber eyes. Clawhauser met him days ago after he was moved to this lifeless basement. The wolf had a habit of appearing from out of nowhere and then just disappeared. He rarely saw Cooper around but didn't bother to ask what duty the wolf was assigned to, afraid that the black wolf might be facing the same fate liked him and would likely be upset to be reminded about it. However, despite him knowing so little about Cooper, the timber wolf was very nice toward him and seemed to never care about the turmoil in the city about predators becoming savage. He even came in sometimes to check if Clawhauser was doing okay.

Just like this time, the timber wolf just showed up out of nowhere and asked Clawhauser if he wanted to go to lunch.

"Are you sure?" Cooper raised his eyebrows. Yeah, another thing about this wolf was that he seemed to be able to see the truth that Clawhauser tried to hide. Well, lying that he's not hungry didn't seem to be a believable excuse anyway.

It's not like he was too lazy to walk to the cafeteria. He just didn't want to face the truth that predators, even an obese harmless cat liked him, weren't very welcomed anywhere now. Moreover, despite his nature to be nice to everyone, there were still mammals who loved picking on him. And with notorious news about predators going savage, Clawhauser wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep his smile up and pretend that he hear nothing.

"Sure, I even think about losing weight." Despite saying the truth, he lied again and smiled. And he knew the timber wolf didn't buy it at all.

"Skipping meals is not a good way to lose weight." Cooper said, but he didn't push Clawhauser to come with him. "I will get something healthy for you then." He said and disappeared before Clawhauser could protest that Cooper didn't have to buy anything for him.

"Hmmm, stop being such a baby, get to work." He said to himself as he tried to focus on the work in front of him.

/

Cooper came back with healthy low-calories fish sandwiches. Clawhauser gladly accepted it, and spending a few minutes watching videos of his favourite singer, Gazelle, as he chewed on his sandwiches.

It's almost 5.30 pm when Clawhauser left the basement. Unlike being at the reception desk, there was no night shift. He started work in the morning and went home in an exact time. It should be good to not be given a night-shift, but he felt lonely. There was rarely any mammals to talk to, and Cooper mostly showed up only lunch time. And not every day he would see that timber wolf around.

Clawhauser dragged himself to the train station. His house was a one story house somewhere between Downtown and Rainforest District. Normally his impala and gazelle neighbors would always greet him when they met, but right now they just looked at him and pushed their children away from where his house was. Clawhauser wasn't angry at them though, they had a reason to be afraid.

He opened the door of his house and sighed as he made his way toward the armchair after kicking the door close. Normally he would be hungry and go to find dinner, but he didn't feel like eating today, not at all.

By his usual routine, right now he would sit in front of his television prepared to watch his favorite TV's show, but today he didn't feel like it at all. Clawhauser felt so awful right now, and he didn't know the cause of it. Might be from hearing those insults for days without anyone to talk to, so he could not ignore them by focusing on something else. Maybe he had had enough of them. Or maybe he might need help, since right now he felt so lifeless and slightly consumed by melancholy.

It took him twenty minutes to drag himself from the chair to take a shower. And since he didn't feel hungry, he tried to make himself enjoy the TV's show, which didn't work out at all. He didn't feel like laughing at any jokes from the show, nor wanting to know what they were talking about.

"What is happening to me?" Clawhauser sighed, massaging his temples slowly. The sadness within him refused to go away despite his best afford to cheer himself up.

Ding Dong!

Someone rang a bell, and Clawhauser blinked. He excitedly got up from the chair to rush to the front door. Maybe it's his neighbors wanting to borrow something, at least he would have someone to talk to. Maybe they might bring him something, just like how his impala neighbors usually bring their homemade bakeries for him to taste and ask for his opinion.

Nevertheless, it's not his neighbor who was at the door. It's Chief Bogo.

/

It felt strange to have is boss sitting in his kitchen, sorting through tons of paper spreading on Clawhauser's old dining table he barely used anymore. Well, it's typical for someone living alone to have their meal in front of a computer or a TV's instead.

What made one of Zootopia's most powerful mammals to come to his house was simple, works. There was something wrong with the papers in his responsibility. Yet it's because Clawhauser hadn't picked up the call, so the boss of ZPD decided to visit the cheetah himself.

Clawhauser was very embarrassed and disappointed at himself for making so many mistakes at work, and even more embarrassed for being so preoccupied that he didn't notice his mobile phone had nearly thirty missed calls from the police station.

Clawhauser had apologized to his boss numerous time since Chief Bogo told him why he was at his house. Luckily that the larger mammal seemed to be too tired or too annoyed to scold him right now. So they settled to work, with Bogo pointing the problems he saw and Clawhauser trying his best to correct his mistakes.

Since Clawhauser had known his boss, this serious buffalo barely talked about anything except work and more works. There was a time when he caught his boss using Gazelle app, yet it's not matter now. With serious situation at hands, Clawhauser knew it's not the time to mention about that incident.

"I'm so sorry boss." Clawhauser murmured as he arranged piles of paper into one. "This won't happen again, I promise."

Chief Bogo only grunted back to him, and Clawhauser's heart dropped. This must be one of his worst days ever. He sucked at work, his neighbours were afraid of him, and his boss was mad at him. His crush was mad at him.

Several minutes later, they were done with the mistakes Clawhauser had made. Actually, Clawhauser had never wanted it to end, because that meant it's time to be scolded. He had barely made mistakes in work before, yet right now looked at him - so pathetic that his boss had to visit his home to make sure he would fix every mistake he made.

Clawhauser lowered his head as Chief Bogo arranged the papers to get them back into a case. He was waiting for his boss to start talking first, but nothing came. No harsh word of how poorly Clawhauser had his work done, nor an anger of having to get himself here.

Instead of saying what Clawhauser had predicted, his boss just spoke with voice soft and warm.

"Hey, Cooper said you're trying to lose weight." The buffalo said, and Clawhauser's shot up in surprised. He looked at his boss, and saw no expression of anger and irritation, just normal calmness.

"Yeah, sir." Clawhauser nodded, encouraged to speak as he saw that his boss wasn't about to lecture him – not yet. "I, um, since I have different duty now, I think I should make a differentiation about myself as well."

"That's good, but you're doing it wrong." Chief Bogo nodded, before continued with more serious tone. "Skipping meals won't get you to lose weight. Eat every meal but choose healthy food and exercise, that's what you have to do."

"Yes, sir." Clawhauser nodded, nearly beaming. And for a slight moment, he thought he saw his boss' expression softened. It might be the light playing with his eyes thought.

They exchanged a few words before Chief Bogo left. Clawhauser watched him get in the car and drove away, a smile still on his face.

After that he walked back to the living-room and watched his another favorite TVs show with a dreamily smile on his face.

Today was not totally one of his worst days after all.

* * *

Bogo's house was somewhere in the downtown, near the police station. It's a beautiful three stories house with a backyard and front yard, and garage. His sons were working on their homework when he got home.

Normally Bogo would not bother to visit any of his comrades' houses when seeing small problems, just like what Clawhauser had made. His true intention was to check on his favourite cheetah. And what he saw saddened him and made him slightly angry at the situation in the city. Clawhauser was one of the most harmless creatures he had ever knew, once full with life and kindness. And now, he looked so lifeless and half consumed by sadness.

Bogo made himself a simple dinner before going to check his sons. They're good kids, never cause him problem. To be honest, he still didn't know why they chose to live with him instead of with his wife. She demanded a divorce after he was too busy working than spending time with his family, which Bogo knew he deserved it for barely being home. Yet his sons still wanted to live with him, and they never told him exactly while. However, it had been almost six years since he had a divorce, now he didn't really want to know the reason.

Most of his friends and comrades expected him to marry someone soon, but he just grunted and said that he had no time to think about his love life. His former wife still visit their sons once or twice a week, so he wasn't worried about them growing up without a mother.

Bogo was about to retreat for the night when his mobile phone went off. He grabbed it up from the table and frowned when he saw the name. It's Cooper.

"Cooper."

'Jobs done, sir.'

"Good."

'Do you want me to check on Officer Clawhauser tomorrow sir?'

"No, that won't be necessary."

'Yes sir.'

Bogo hung up and walked upstairs to his room. Cooper had been his favourite cop for years, loyal and bright. Actually he felt a bit guilty to have Cooper went to check on Clawhauser instead of going to the basement himself. Yet having a chief police going to the basement every day might give people a wrong idea, so he eventually sent Cooper instead. And the wolf was doing an excellent job.

He put his mobile phone on the nightstand and decided to take a shower. There was nothing better than having a shower after a long stressful day. One predaot had gone savage today, a small coyote. His heart sunk as he watched their family cried to see their love being dragged away, in muzzle and with a collar around her neck. This made him wondered what would happen if Clawhauser had gone savage too. What should he do if that happen? Bogo would be lying if he said he had no soft spots for that chubby cheetah, and he would be even more of a liar if he said he didn't care about Clawhauser.

Thinking of Clawhauser had him thought of their new mayor, Bellwether. She was the one who secretly requested that the first mammals every citizen saw when they entered the buildings wasn't going to be a predator. This made it easier for him to make a decision he had been thinking about for a while.

So, instead of going to sleep, he called Cooper right after he finished showering.

'Chief?'

"Meet me at my office tomorrow, 10 o'clock." He said, looking out of his window and saw the face of their new mayor, who didn't know that she had subconsciously showed how eager she was to wipe any predators out from every system.

'Yes sir,'

"Goodnight Cooper."

He hung up and sat down on the bed, feeling a lot better.

/

Cooper was right on time, knocking at his door as soon as it was 10 am. He let the wolf came in and closed the door, before moving to sit behind his desk.

"What is it sir?" Cooper said, the wolf always knew when he had something up his mind.

"I want you to check on our _beloved_ mayor." He said, thinking of the way that female lamp's eyes unconsciously revealed how much she was happy to see predators being kept in cages. It disgusted him, but he had never mentioned it to anyone. "If there is something interesting, makes it becomes viral." He said, and Cooper nodded.

"Yes sir, anything more?" The wolf asked, and Bogo shook his head.

"No, have a good day son." He replied, and Cooper nodded before he left quietly.

Bogo spent several minutes after that staring out of his window. Honestly, Bogo very wanted to join Gazelle peaceful protest; but as a chief police he couldn't do that. He just couldn't, and if frustrated him a bit.

Well, at least what he could do was to make sure Bellwether wasn't going to have everything the way she wanted. He had never trusted that little lamp, she seemed to have something up her mind all the time.

/

The day went on, more cases coming along with troubles, stressful meeting, and finally a little free-time for him to stretch his legs. A chance for him to check on Clawhauser.

His mood lighted up immediately, and Bogo knew he was slightly smiling as he made his way to the basement.


	2. Chapter 2

Clawhauser hummed to himself as he arranged piles of paper on his table. Not so far away was his mobile phone playing Gazelle's newest song. He wished he could at her concert someday. He had never bought the ticket in time before the website crashed. So, he probably would have to watch her upcoming concert in front of his TV again. He's definitely not going to buy an overpriced ticket from a scalper.

"Hey, catch!"

He had three seconds to process what he just heard, before something soft and fluffy landed itself on his head. Clawhauser turned and saw Cooper at the doorway, grinning.

"What is this?" He asked the wolf, picking a soft fabric from his head.

"I picked it up on my way here; someone told me that you will like it." Cooper replied, grinning before he disappeared just liked the way he arrived. Clawhauser shook his head with a tired smile, he was used to Cooper's way of appearing out of nowhere now. So he turned to look at what in his hand instead.

"Oh… my…god…"

Clawhauser knew his jaw would have hit the ground if it was possible for his mouth to open that wide. In his hand was Gazelle's latest shirt which had arrived at local stores three days ago; which were all sold out in less than 24 hours – much to Clawhauser disappointment that he didn't have a chance to buy it.

Right now he could feel his heart pounding so hard it might pushed itself though layer of his visceral fat. This was an official shirt from the store, with a price tag still attached to it. Moreover, it's an XXXL sized, his size.

Clawhauser had no idea what to say. He was so happy that he didn't know how to describe it.

However, after his joyful moment tuned down a bit, Clawhauser started to wonder of who buy his shirt for him. If could be Cooper, but why would Cooper do that? Or he might actually 'pick it up' on his way here. Then who bought it?

He didn't know what got to him, but for a moment he had a feeling that it's Chief Bogo who bought it.

"Ngh… that's not going to happen." Clawhauser shook his head. "Chief won't do something like that, even that he's also Gazelle's fan. Gotta ask Cooper." He decided, even that he somehow knew that Cooper wasn't going to tell him.

* * *

The shirt indeed had made Clawhauser in a super high spirit for the rest of the day. He smiled wider and even talked his co-workers into having a short break with him as they came to deliver their reports.

His friends kept him up with the situation in the station. Everything seemed to be normal, until one of his friend talked about the visiting from their new Mayor hours ago.

"Mayor Bellwether was here?" Clawhauser was surprised. He didn't think that a mayor would have to visit the police station by herself, unless there was something terrible happen.

"I've heard that she came to talk with Chief Bogo personally." Katy, a female leopard said with a toothy grin. She always had the hottest and most interesting topics to gossip. "I saw her went into Chief's room. And her bodyguards stood in front of the room all the time. I think there must be a secret, since she didn't even trust us not to eavesdrop."

"Maybe it's about her…latest clips that went viral." George, a rhino said as he hold up his mobile phone. It was a clip of an outdoor party that also captured teenage Bellwether purposely knocked a drunk tiger face first toward a small bonfire, and the satisfied look on her face showed that this wasn't a friendly prank as she had told the news. Luckily, the tiger didn't fall on top of the bonfire or got hurt; and Bellwether came up with an excuse that had 'I was drunk and they were all drunk, and it's just a prank, so there is nothing to talk about' as a summary.

"This clip is so old." Katy said. "I've to say that whoever dog this up must be very good at IT, even our Cybercrime department still cannot trace this guy back. They said 'There is nearly zero Cyber-fingerprint', or whatever that means."

"It means that if 'that' person, or persons, decides to release another embarrassed clips of our new Mayor, we will still be unable to catch him." George concluded with a shrug. "And that will probably make her come back here again, maybe even angrier this time."

"And I will be even angrier if I catch you two taking a rather too long break in the middle of your shift."

A familiar stern voice made the three of them jumped in surprise. Their boss, Chief Bogo, was at the doorway with an annoyed look on his face and some papers in his hooves.

"Chief!"

"Boss!"

Both George and Katy tensed up, while Clawhauser felt blood being drained from his face. Well, he was the one to talk this two into taking a break with him, so it's his fault too.

"Get back to work." However, their Chief cut them off before the three of them managed to say anything more. "I will pretend that this has never happened, but if there is a second time…" The large mammal trailed off with a serious look in his eyes. That's enough to make Katy and George quickly get back to work, leaving Clawhauser alone with their boss which seemed to be still fuming in irritation.

Oh dear, Clawhauser gulped. I'm a dead meat. Should I apologize before he starts lecturing me? Will it make him become even angrier? Oh… how did I manage to mess up this time? Benny, you're such a stupid cat.

Nevertheless, the lecture didn't came. And Clawhauser jumped as his boss sat down on the chair in front of his table.

"How are you doing?" Chief Bogo asked as if nothing happened. The larger mammal put the papers he carried with him on the table, while his other hooves took a glasses out of his pocket.

"Pardon…?" Clawhauser was so surprised that he could not manage to answer properly. And that made him received a slight concerned look from his boss.

"How are you doing?" Chief Bodo asked again, looking at him in the eyes; Clawhauser would be lying if he said that this didn't make his heart beat so fast and make him felt like melting right under that intense gaze. Chief Bogo could be intimidating, yet even better with intimidating in a slightly sexual way.

"I…I'm fine." Clawhauser finally was able to find his voice again. "And…um… please don't blame Katy and George, I talked them into taking a break." He prepared to be lectured, yet it didn't come. What surprised him more was that his boss replied him back with a softer voice.

"It's okay, just don't do too often." Chief Bogo said, pushing some papers toward Clawhauser. "I have to finish this reports… and I hope you might be able to help me with some of this. Cooper said that you're quite free today."

"Oh, yes, yes sir." Clawhauser nodded quickly and started working immediately, totally forgetting about the abrupt change of the topic since he had got to spend time with his secret crush – and also didn't notice the slight higher pitch of Bogo's voice nor the slight quickened pace when the larger mammal asked for Clawhauser's assistant.

* * *

"I saw the Mayor visited you this afternoon."

Cooper said as he sat down in front of Bogo's desk. Outside it was raining, the sky looked like midnight even that it's just 5 o'clock. Bogo looked up from the reports on his desk to see the wolf grinned at him. He sighed, leaning back and put the pen down.

"She seemed to be… very frustrated." The wolf continued, smiling as Bogo watched one of his best officers span the chair around. "I guess you can handle that, right?"

Bogo gave the wolf a look. Outside, Cooper looked like a stern wolf with nothing on his mind but how to get the job done. However, on the inside he was a cocky bastard. But as long as Cooper was still in line, Bogo had no problem with the large black wolf wondering out of the way sometimes. Also, with Cooper's ability to make seven clips that damaged Mayor Bellwether's reputation become viral within a week, Bogo decided that the wolf deserved to act like he didn't have to care about manner; at least when he was in this room.

"I can handle her frustration, son." Bogo said, looking at the young wolf who was secretly his adopted child – not officially though. The wolf's father left him with Bogo while he was in the hospital. Cooper's parents tried their best to raise Cooper even after they had so many debts to pay due to the bills from the hospital, so the wolf had spent a lot of his early childhood years under Bogo's care.

"Okay," Cooper nodded, before changing the topic. "So… I've also seen you visited Mr. Clawhauser. Did you give him the ticket yet?"

"Um…not yet…" Bogo sighed, feeling his cheeks heated up a bit. He had secretly, with Cooper's help, brought two tickets to Gazelle's latest concert, and also her newest shirt. "I…is he happy with the shirt?"

"You should know that by now." Cooper sighed, looking as if he was feeling sympathy for Bogo. "Come on Chief, you're able to bring an elephant down in boxing, and putting yourself between everyone and danger. You've taken bullets for us. You can do this." The wolf said, a serious look in his eyes. Bogo sighed, knowing that his unofficially adoptive son was right.

"Right…right…" The buffalo nodded, sighing nervously. Well, what Cooper said was true, but those could not be compared to asking a comrade out on a date with him to Gazelle concert. He wasn't sure when did he start caring for Clawhauser more than he should care for a comrade and a friend, but the feeling increased every passing day. His feeling, his fondness of that chubby and kind cheetah, grew every day until he realized that it's not just something simple that would be gone within a week, nor something he could just literally ignore.

He loved Clawhauser. He knew it. But admitting it out loud took him almost a month. And it took him a couple of weeks for him to gather his courage and told Cooper, asking for the wolf's help. Luckily, his adoptive son was so supportive of him, and Bogo was glad to have Cooper giving him every answer to his nervous questions about dating; he hadn't dated anyone else since his former wife for years now.

* * *

Clawhauser was packing up and ready to leave the police station when Cooper showed up again.

"Hi," the wolf called, walking toward him with a smile. "It's raining outside, do you want a ride home?"

"Oh, thank you. You're so kind." Clawhauser smiled, relieved to be mostly dry when he got home. He had nothing against rain, but rainy evening usually caused a slight traffic jam and made everywhere so slippery that anyone with poor balance, liked him, falling down too often than when babies had their first lesson of how to walk.

"Alright, and do you want to stay for dinner too, I'm trying to cook something new and I want you to try out. My adoptive dad is going to visit soon and I want to perfect this recipe before he visits… you know…" Cooper trailed off, scratching the back of his head. And even that he didn't know much about Cooper, but being a warm hearted he was, so Clawhauser accepted the invitation with a smile. Plus, he would have a chance to ask Cooper how exactly he got this shirt.

* * *

"Well… you've to promise me something first." Cooper said after Clawhauser pushed the black timber wolf about how he had the shirt in the first place. "Promise me that you're not going to freak out after I tell you." He said as he span the wheel, turning the car to go left.

"I'm not going to freak out." Clawhauser said, smiling as his mind already wondered of whom that person could be. In his mind, he wished that it's Chief Bogo. And when he was about to push that thought away, Cooper answer came.

"It's Chief Bogo."

* * *

 _Chief Bogo bought this shirt for me?_

 _What…what in the world…._

 _Oh My God…please tell me this is not a dream._

 _Chief Bogo bought me Gazelle newest shirt!_

 _What should I do? What should I do?! Should I buy something back? Should I send a thank you card?_

After reaching Cooper's house, Clawhauser spent ten minutes thinking about what Cooper had told him while the wolf was in the kitchen – cooking.

 _Why didn't Chief giving the shirt to me when he visited me this afternoon?_

 _Was he… too shy to do that?_

 _No… that couldn't be it._ Clawhauser laughed cheekily, imaging his boss being shy and he ended up getting a creepy image than something cute and huggable. _Maybe it's because he couldn't just walk to me with Gazelle's shirt, other officers might freak out._ Clawhauser thought. _Yes, that must be it._

Then it left him one big question that he still could not figure out yet.

 _Why did he buy me Gazelle's shirt?_

 _Is he…? No…no… that's not possible. It cannot be possible. He… how can he have a crush on someone like me? A fat cat like me? While he is…all about being healthy and being serious._

 _Yup, but I do still have a crush on him._

Clawhauser rubbed his face, sighing. He's so confused about the situation at hands, what should he do?

"Claw? Dude! Are you there?"

Cooper called him from the kitchen, and Clawgauser hurried to the wolf. This all trying to crack the puzzle of 'why Chief bought be Gazelle's shirt' was giving him a headache. Maybe he needed to think about something else for a while.

Cooper was in front of a stove when Clawhauser walked in. The wolf was cooking something which smelt wonderful, and already had Clawhauser's mouth watered.

"What is that?" Clawhauser asked, moving closer to the stove. He felt so hungry right now.

"Spicy vegetable soup, salad, and chicken steak." Cooper smiled, pouring some of the soup in to a small bowl and handed it to Clawhauser. "Here, try it. Is it okay? I hope it isn't too salty this time."

"Okay." Clawhauser nodded and slowly tasted the soup. His expression changed from curious to delightful in a blink of an eye.

"This is delicious, oh man, you're good at cooking." Clawhauser squealed, consuming the rest of it quickly and licked his lips. "Can I have more?" he asked, eyes sparkling.

"Wow, thank you. That's the first time someone told me that." Cooper smiled. Clawhauser was about to ensure the wolf that he indeed good at cooking when a voice cut them off.

"It's because for Clawhauser, everything is delicious."

A familiar voice had Clawhauser jumped. He turned and froze as he saw his boss, Chief Bogo, standing at the doorway. The large mammal was still in police uniform, with a slight annoyed expression on his face.

"Oh. Hello sir, you're right on time." Cooper smiled, walking toward their boss with another bowl of soup in his hand. "Wanna try? I think I've improved."

Chief Bogo grunted, but taking the bowl from Cooper nonetheless. Clawhauser was gaping as he watched his crush in the same room with him.

Okay, okay…now my crush is HERE. HERE IN THIS KITCHEN!

What is he doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see him, but what is he doing here? Oh, man, did Cooper invite him to? Without telling me? What?

"Not bad, but still not good enough to ask someone out for dinner." Chief Bogo said with an emotionless voice, but there was a grin on his face. And Cooper's next sentenced almost had Clawhauser's jaw hit the floor.

"Come on Dad! I know it's good and you like it." The wolf pouted, getting the bowl back. "By the way, I've also invited Clawhauser, so you will have someone to accompany you while I cook." Cooper said and got back to the stove, clearly ignoring a stern look he was receiving from Chief Bogo.

And for Clawhauser? His world just turned upside-down.

"Wait…" Clawhauser gasped, as pieces started to click in his head. "You…you're Cooper adoptive dad?!"

* * *

Bogo didn't know what should he repay Cooper for suddenly getting him to dinner with Clawhauser. When the wolf invited him to dinner today, he accepted with a strange feeling that Cooper was up to something. And now, he was sitting on the wolf's sofa with his crush sitting not far away. And that cocky wolf? Still in the kitchen, pretending to be innocent. However, Bogo couldn't say that he didn't appreciate Cooper's afford to get him to finally ask Clawhauser out.

Yet, now he still tried to prolong it. That's why now he was telling Clawhauser about Cooper.

"I've known his parent since I was a kid." Bogo said. "When his father got ill and his mother had to work almost 24 hours to get enough money to cover the bills, I decided to take care of Russ." He said, using Cooper's given name instead. "He spent most of his time with me until his parents were able to clear all their fiancé's issues."

"Oh, I see." Clawhauser smiled. And now he was left with one question he was still afraid to ask. "So…um…" He glanced his bag where the shirt was kept. However, before he could ask about it, his boss spoke first.

"I um… I guess Cooper had already given you the shirt, right?" The larger mammal asked him, and it might be his ears playing with him but Clawhauser wonder if his boss' voice shaken a bit? A kind if shaken when someone was excited.

"Oh… yeah. Thank you Chief." Clawhauser nodded. He felt his voice a bit shaking too. But it's now or never. "So…um… why did you buy me that shirt Chief? I um, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but…you know… you just don't simply buy someone a shirt, right?"

"You're not 'someone', Benjamin." Chief Bogo replied abruptly, and he was calling Clawhauser by his name. It surprised the cheetah, and, made him felt like there were thousands of butterflies in his stomach. His heard skipped a beat and Ckawhauser felt as if he was dreaming.

"You are…" Then his boss seemed to be losing his voice for a few seconds, and Clawhauser waited with hope. He felt his heart throwing itself against his costal bones as he waited for Chief Bogo to finish. "…you are a good friend, a good cop. And um… I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything to change the mayor's mind about changing your desk at the police station."

"It's okay Chief." Clawhauser shook his head and gave his crush and boss his best smile. However, he couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed that Chief Bogo wasn't going to ask him out. "I understand. And you're a Chief, you cannot just ignore the mayor's request."

"I wish I could." Chief Bogo grunted, and Clawhauser saw a slight anger in his eyes.

"It's okay Chief. I'm okay." Clawhauser tried to reassure his boss that everything was alright for him. Well, not totally alright but he didn't want Bogo to worry about him. Of course he felt good having the buffalo's attention, but if it caused Bogo to endure more stresses than usual? Then he didn't want to.

Chief Bogo looked at him and sighed. He seemed to have something up his mind. And before Clawhauser knew it, a ticket to Gazelle's upcoming concerts was handed toward him.

"If you have time," His boss looked away, "I…um… I want you to go to Gazelle's concert with me."

"Chief?" Clawhauser felt his jaw hit the ground, not literally though, as he looked at the ticket that his boss handed to him. "Chief…this is…. This is a ticket… Chief….did you just…" He looked up at his boss, his heart was pounding so hard Clawhauser was afraid it might break out of his chest cavity.

"I'm asking you out on a date, Benjamin." His boss finally spoke out loud, turning to back to him. "I… I'm okay if you don't…"

Before he knew it, Clawhauser was jumping on his boss, with arms around Bogo's shoulders.

"Yes, I will go with you Chief! I will." Clawhauser shouted, hugging his boss and half hoping that this wasn't a dream. That this was real and his crush just asked him out on a date. He could feel his heart hammered his chest but he didn't care. All he care now was that his boss called him by his real name and just ask him out on a date.

 _I cannot believe it! Chief Bogo just asked me out on a date!_

Clawhauser screamed in his mind as he rest his head on Chief Bogo's strong shoulder.

"It's Dallas."

"What…" Clawhauser paused and froze as he felt an arm wrapped around him, with his boss' hooves caressing the back of his head gently.

Did Chief just tell me to call him by his real name?

"Dallas Bogo." The larger mammals said, slowly titling his face so they both were looking at each other. "When we're…um… when we're on a date, I want you to call me by my real name, Benjamin." His boss seemed to be a bit shy about this, but smiled nonetheless. Clawhauser just couldn't do anything but to smile back.

"Okay,…Dallas."


	3. Chapter 3

"I… can't…go on…." Clawhauser panted as he sat down on the floor. His heart was beating so fast he afraid it might jump out of his chest. Besides him, the large black wolf put the dumbbells down and walked toward him.

"Come on Clawhauser, you can do it." Cooper said, trying to pull him up. Clawhauser just whined, but letting the wolf pulled him back on his feet.

They're at the police gym. Clawhasuer was trying to lose weight, and Cooper was trying his best to help. And his motivation? Chief Bogo. His boss was nothing but healthy and muscular. And Clawhasuer wanted to improve himself, so he could go out with Dallas without thinking about if he really deserved someone so perfect.

Of course he didn't tell Bogo about this, and he made Cooper sworn he wouldn't tell his adoptive dad either. He knew that Dallas would offer his hhelp, but the problem was Clawhauser didn't want his Chief to see him in a stage of struggling to go on or wanting to eat all sweets in the world. Only Cooper with tired expression on his face was enough.

"Almost there…you're almost there!"

Clawhauser whined to Cooper's cheering voice. The wolf was trying to make him finished his 10th push up, which was quite hard considered you an overweight cheetah.

"Come on Clawhauser, you can do it." Cooper said, walking around him. "Come on! Think about the Gazelle's concert! Think about the time you're going to spend with him. You can do it!"

Clawhauser gave a cry, but he did finish his 10th push up, before falling down to the floor and sighed.

"Hey, you're improving." Cooper smiled, dropping down on the floor besides him. "Come on, yesterday you're able to do push up for only 8 times."

"Yeah," Clawhauser sighed, smiling. "Yeah, I'm improving!" he said, a lot more joyful this time, before sitting up.

"Yes, you're improving." Cooper nodded, before looking at his watch. "But we better go before Chief comes in here. You know, he always used the gym every Wednesday evening." The wolf said as he stood up.

"Right." Clawhauser nodded and pulled his exhausted body up from the ground. Chief Bogo always use the police gym every Wednesday, and today was Wednesday.

* * *

Clawhauser was humming Gazelle's newest song as he walked toward the gym. Today he was a bit lonely since Cooper was on a mission, but he told himself he was going to be okay. He was going to jog [walk] on the treadmill, then he was going to do push up and other stuffs Cooper had instructed him. Chief Bogo did not use the gym on Thursday; he's good.

At first it was good, but after he spent 20 minutes on the treadmill Clawhauser started to hear someone talking about him. It was a whisper, at first, so Clawhauser turned down the volume of his MP3 player. He wanted to know what they were talking.

"…can't believe that obese cat is in a gym."

"Yeah, but he looks ridiculous on the tradmil."

"Like a toad forced to run, no offend, just look at his stomach."

"I wonder what drives him to exercise. A desire to eat more pizza, so he had to burn some of his fat out first?"

Clawhauser gulped and immediately increased the volume of the song. He didn't want to listen, no matter how many times he had heard someone talked poorly of him he always tried to ignore. Yet it didn't mean that he wasn't hurt.

'Okay Benjy, count one to ten, you're going to be okay.' Clawhauser told himself, already counting from one to ten. A simple method to distract himself. And it worked so well that Clawhauser didn't saw Chief Bogo entered the gym, nor those who was still making fun of him.

It was until those mammals were scolded and kicked out of the gym, that Clawhauser realized someone was walking toward where he was walking on the treadmill. He turned slightly, only wanted to see that who was there, before he nearly jumped out of the treadmill by accident after he saw that it's Chief Bogo.

"Chief!" Clawhauser gulped, eyes widened. "Umm, good evening sir…?" He offered the greeting cheekily, and Bogo looked at him with a stern look mixed with amusement in his eyes.

"Good evening Clawhauser," His boss said, before getting on the treadmill besides Clawhauser's. "So this is where you have been everyday then. I guess Cooper knows about this too, right? He refused to tell me anything when I ask if he knows what you're planning."

"I…I um…" Clawhauser gulped. But since Bogo knew he was here, he should tell the truth. "…I made him promise not to tell you."

"May I ask why?" Bogo asked, looking at him as the buffalo started jogging. His eyes were sharp and telling Clawhauser that lying was a bad idea.

"I….I want to lose weight." Clawhauser said. "I um… want to surprise you. And I ask Cooper for help."

"I see," Bogo nodded, frowning before looking away. The buffalo didn't seem to break a sweat since he was on the treadmill, yet Clawhauser was wet from head to toe from his own sweat.

Clawhauser was thinking about what he should do. _Is Chief angry with me? Should I apologize? He just frowned and looked away!_ He truly had no idea. He didn't know if Dallas would be okay with him trying to surprise the other. The buffalo didn't say nothing more, just kept jogging with stern look on his face, blanked expression. It made Clawhasuer felt liked bad, and he decided to apologize to his Chief as soon as possible.

Half an hour later, and Chief Bogo was done with running. However, unlike Clawhasuer who was already out of breath, he walked toward dumbbell laying around. Clawhasuer was about to apologize when there were more mammals walking in and heading toward those dumbbells too. And since they're secretly dating, if Bogo still wanted to date with him, both of them wouldn't want other to hear.

So, Clawhauser left with lower spirit than when he entered the gym. He pulled his mobile phone out as soon as he was home, sending text to his boss.

 _Dallas, I'm sorry I didn't tell you._

He wanted to write something more, but didn't know what to say. So he sent it just liked that and laid down on his bed. He had already showered, now struggling to go to sleep. However, before his eyes fell shut, there was a message sent to his phone.

 _Is your doorbell broken? I don't hear anything._

 _Ps. I am standing in front of your house._

This had Clawhauser immediately shot out of his bed and ran to his front door.

Chief Bogo was there, in front of his doorway in casual clothes. Clawhauser gulped. He wasn't sure what to do, and his boss' concealed expression wasn't helping at all.

"Hi," Clawhauser offered, moving away for Bogo to walk in. The buffalo did, and Clawhauser closed the door awkwardly, trying to think of something to say. However, Bogo beat him to it.

"Benjamin," The taller mammal said, voice soft and tired. "It's not like I'm not appreciating your afford to lose weight, but there is I don't like about your motivation."

"My…motivation?" Clawhauser gulped, trying to catch up with what just happened. First, his boss found out about him trying to lose weight. Bogo didn't seem to be happy though – which Clawhauser didn't know why – might be because he decided to keep it a secret. And now, the buffalo was in his house.

"Yeah," Dallas sighed, massaging his temple before moving closer. "I'm appreciate your effort, but I want you to be doing this for yourself, not for me. It's not like I'm not…happy… to be your motivation, but it's your body and your health." Bogo said as he put his hooves on Clawhauser's shoulders. "Okay? I'm not mad, just…I want you to do this for yourself, not me."

"Okay, okay, I got it." Clawhauser nodded frantically. He felt like lifting the mountain off his chest. He gave Bogo his best smile, and the buffalo returned it with a grin.

"Well," Bogo continued, there was a hint of something dark and mischief in his voice. "To be honest, I kinda want to be your motivation in something else…" He trailed off, before looking away.

"…what do you mean?" Clawhauser asked, titling his head. But before he could ask more, Bogo turned back and kissed him. A soft, gentle kiss which always had Clawhauser melting.

"Did I make myself clear?" The buffalo chuckled as he held Clawhauser against him. The cheetah just purred, nuzzling his face with his boyfriend chest.

"Yes, sir." Clawhauser nodded, stepping away to look at his lover again. "Thank you so much sir," He added, smiling. Bogo nodded, before he turned and dropped a bag Clawhauser didn't know the buffalo was carried on the coffee table.

"Can I stay over?" Bogo asked, innocently. And Clawhauser wasn't smiling, no, he was beaming.

* * *

"So…he came to your house to tell you he's not angry with you."

"Yes."

"Then he asked to stay over."

"Yes, which surprised me in a good way."

"And then you two screwed."

"Ye…..Cooper!" Clawhauser hissed with his face reddened. Okay, he told Cooper only that Bogo asked to stay over, but the wolf seemed to already have a scene played out in his head. Well, what Cooper said wasn't wrong, but Clawhauser would never say something like that out loud.

"Hey, relax. You two are together aren't you? It's normal. Sexual activity is a natural activity for most creatures on earth. And I'm not going to tell anyone." Cooper shrugged, leaning back against his chair, and Clawhauser started to regret telling the wolf about the event of the day Cooper was on a mission. Well, he knew Cooper wasn't going to tell anyone, but it's still embarrassed to hear the wolf say something like that out loud.

"I know." Clawhauser sighed at Cooper's grin. He sat back and started chewing on his new snack - baked pumpkins. Cooper said it's good for his heath, and that it had less sugar than his usual snack. At first Clawhauser was reluctant, but the wolf insisted and that's how he ended up with baked pumpkin at his desk every day since Cooper offered to help him lose weight.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed of." Cooper shrugged. "Hey, let me tell you something. You and my dad wear the same expression when I asked him if you two had been… you know…" The wolf flashed him a grin. Clawhauser could only wonder how Dallas raised this wolf, and whom did Cooper inherited such personality. Nevertheless, Clawhauser knew Cooper was only teasing.

* * *

Later that afternoon, their new Mayor had visited ZPD headquarter again. Clawhauser was walking back to the basement as she stormed passed him and all police officers in the hall. Well, she did keep her innocent and kind look, but from Cooper's chuckled darkly it told Clawhauser otherwise.

"What is it?" He asked the wolf as the larger wolf watched their new Mayor walked away.

"No, just," Cooper shook his head. "I just know that she isn't as innocent and good as she look."

And with that, the wolf bid him good afternoon and walked away, going on a mission. And Clawhauser? He sighed and walked back to his desk in the basement.

A while after Clawhauser reached his office, his friends immediately came down stairs with the newest video of Mayor Bellwether, the reason while she was so angry today. There was a leaked video of her in, probably her house, talking to another sheep of how she hated Predators because most of them were bad and always looked down on Preys. And after this video went vial, there was chaos on the comment sites. Mammals were debating on what she had said, and of course; their new mayor wasn't happy about it.

Clawhauser was a little bit hurt to see she expressed her hate [in the video] like that. He had never meant anyone harm, Preys or Predators alike. However, the video left he wondered about Chief Bogo. Of course, if biologically categorized his boyfriend would probably be a Pre. But can anyone imagining Chief Bogo being hunted? No, he would probably hunt other. And Clawhauser? Well, he was even closer to the Prey category than Bogo even that he was biologically a Predator.

* * *

Later that day, Bogo had invited him to dinner after work. Clawhauser was nervous, at first, because this was the first time he ever visited the Chief's house. And of course, he knew Bogo had two sons, which might or might not approve the idea of their father dating a male mammal, especially a male mammal from other species.

"There is no need to be nervous, Cooper will be there too. He will keep the kids occupy in case you want sometimes alone." The buffalo said as he drove home, making Clawhauser weakly grinned because Bogo didn't express if 'sometimes alone' was in a normal way or sexual way, or both.

"I still couldn't help." Clawhauser said, sighing. "I have been asked how many time of how a cheetah get 'fat'. I know they're just curious though." He laughed cheekily, and turned to see Bogo looked at him with mixed feelings in his eyes.

"Benjamin, I love you because who you are." Bogo said, voice soft and warm. "You don't have to do anything for me."

"And I love you because who you are too." Clawhauser returned the smile, and if Bogo wasn't driving he would have pulled Clawhauser into a hug by now.

* * *

Bogo's house was larger, but more comfy and homey than what Clawhauser had expected. They went into the house and saw that Cooper was already there, helping two young buffalo cooked whatever on the stove.

"I'm under an impression that you're going to make my kitchen explore." Bogo stated as Cooper turned toward him. The wolf just grinned.

"Come on, you know I won't do that. Right Linus?" Cooper said, nudging the older buffalo lightly.

"No, he won't." Linus replied as he turned to greet his father. Besides him, his younger brother, who was later introduced as Lewis, nodded. After that they looked at Clawhauser.

"Dad, is this your boyfriend?" Lewis was the first one to speak. "He looks like a giant pillow." The young buffalo said, before being smacked by Linus. Clawhauser gasped lightly, it seemed to hurt.

"That's not the proper way to greet a guest, Lewis." Linus said, before he turned to Clawhauser. "Welcome to our house, officer Clawhauser. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said with a smile, with Cooper grinning and giving Clawhauser a thumbs up from behind Chief's Bogo son.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Clawhauser said, nervously at first. But then Lewis, who had recovered from the smack, immediately chimed in with tons of question of how the police station operate since his father didn't seem to be happy telling them much about it.

* * *

The dinner was better than Clawhauser had ever thought. Bogo's son had accepted him since the first time they saw each other. There was no hatred or judging look, only warm smiled. And, since Bogo remained silence almost every times his son asked him about his job, Clawhauser chimed in and explained. Lewis clearly was very happy with Clawhauser. He even asked his father of when Clawhauser will move in with them, which had both Clawhauser and Bogo choking on their drink while Cooper chuckled.

"I've never thought that your sons will be this open-minded. They're the best." Clawhauser said to Bogo after dinner. He and Bogo had volunteered to do the dishes since Cooper and the kids had already cooked. Besides him, Bogo who was rinsing the plate smiled.

"Thank you." Bogo said. "Acutally, when I told them I didn't even expect them to be this supportive. I only hoped that they would not oppose my decision. Yet, Linus and Lewis were very excited to meet you. I guess the world has changed, homosexual couple seemed to be accepted more and more. To which I'm glad."

"Me too." Clawhauser smiled, leaning lightly on his boyfriend and let Bogo kissed his head softly. He purred and Bogo chuckled, before nuzzling him with his muzzle.

"Come on, we have this dishes to finish." Bogo said, giving Clawhauser a soft kiss before they both continued on their shore. To be honest, if there was no issue of 'Predator gone Savage', Bogo would have taken Clawhauser on a date more often. He could only hope that this chaos would end soon.


	4. Epilogue

**I know that this might be too short, but I think it's already complete since chapter 3, so this chapter was like a little epilogue to what happened. So, I hope you guys enjoy this. See you next time ^^**

* * *

It was Clawhauser's day off when his mobile phone was bombed with calls and massages. He just took a nap and then woke up to see six miscalls from his boyfriend, two from Cooper, and messages along with miscalls from the rest of his friends.

'Bellwether is in jail!'

'Judy saves the day!'

'Bellwether is in custody, she's the one poisoning all predators to make them became savage'

'You're not going to believe this, but Bellwether is the one behind all those savage predator.'

Etc.

"Oh my…" Clawhauser couldn't help but smile as he read the messages. At first he could not believe that it's Bellwether, but he was happy to see all mysteries about the predators' going savage were finally revealed.

'Hey, guess what! Bellwether is the one behind all the predator going savage. She is arrested now. What a day!'

Clawhauser read the message twice before he slid the screen to read Bogo's messages, which he had saved to read the last. There was a smile on Clawhauser's face, which became wider as he read the messages from his boyfriend.

'You will be move back to the front desk within this week.'

'Let's go to dinner after I get this case done. Cooper is already interrogating her. I don't know should I feel sorry or happy about that.'

Clawhauser chuckled as he read the message. Believe it or not, there was a rumour said that Cooper was one of the worst interrogators for the suspect. He was cold and ruthless when he's working, and that wolf was somehow good at hitting people's nerve – stabbing on their soft spots with sharp and poisonous words.

'Let's go to dinner after this, I will pick you up around 7 PM if you don't already have plans for tonight.'

Clawhauser read the last message from Bogo and flopped down onto his couch. He was squealing before typing back with a huge smile on his face.

'I've no plan tonight, see you at 7 o'clock '

* * *

Bogo arrived at his house that evening, and the first thing the buffalo did was pulling Clawhauser into a hug. Then they're kissing passionately.

After that they went to dinner. It's a nice dinner at a small restaurant near the river. Clawhauser enjoyed the view as much as the food. And this was the first time he and Bogo kissed in public. Well, no one seemed to care, so they stole another kiss or two before going home.

Clawhauser went to the station quickly in the morning. He would be moved back to the reception desk in three days, Bogo's order. That's enough to make Clawhauser started the day with a huge smile on his face and a very high spirit.

Everything was getting back to normal. Everything. He couldn't be happier.

* * *

"Dad, don't worry about us."

"We will be fine!"

Linus and Lewis said as Bogo was about to go to Gazelle's concert with Clawhauser. His sons were standing at the front door with Cooper. The wolf had volunteered to watch over the two buffalos as Bogo went on a date. Besides him, Clawhauser with still reddened face just smiled shyly. Bogo smiled back as they got into the car. He knew this was going to be one of their best night ever.

"Thank you Dallas," Clawhauser said while they were on the road. "I have never, I have never thought that I would have a chance like this in real life."

"Which one?"

"Which…?"

"The chance to go to Gazelle's concert, or the chance to let me kiss you?"

Dallas said with his expression unchanged. Or even that something changed, Clawhauser didn't see it because he was too busy trying not to blush.

"I…both? I don't know…" Clawhauser replied, trying hard not to blush even more than he already did. Bogo chuckled and then they kissed again.

* * *

 **THE END**


End file.
